


How Bad Can It Get?

by mrc2



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Chameleon Aliens, F/M, Galra Creature, Hoplessly Pining, Hugs all around, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, I made up a new alien race, I'm sorry my sons, Insecure Lance (Voltron), Keith gets punched, Keith is good with feelings, Langst, M/M, Protective Keith (Voltron), Shiro gets punched, Sorry Not Sorry, klangst, obvious pining, pidge knows, woohoo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-18 00:18:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11862681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrc2/pseuds/mrc2
Summary: He begged for it all to stop, begging for an end to the pain he was feeling. He wanted to disappear. Keith wouldn't let him."Shh, I've got you." He whispered, "I'm here, Lance, let it all out." And Lance did. Every last tear.-- When Lance gets bitten by a Galran creature that can amplify negative emotions, things don't go so well.





	How Bad Can It Get?

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys. I suck at just sticking to one fic, I just get random ideas popping up and I can't help but wanna write it.
> 
> This is the longest fic I've written so I bet there's gonna be a few mistakes. Sorry about that. 
> 
> But, hope you enjoy reading it. I need to stop hurting our precious blue boy, golly gosh I'm a monster.

"It's too hot. I'm melting here." Lance whined, he felt like he was going to slide right out of his armour due to how much he was sweating. It didn't feel nice at all. With a huff of breath, he pushed a large leaf, the size of a small car, out of his way. He made sure to let it go as quickly as possible just for the satisfaction of it hitting Keith straight in the chest. It wasn't thick so it wouldn't hurt but the quiet 'oof' behind him had him grinning. Lance spared a glance behind him to look at Keith. Through the helmet Lance could tell he was sweating and, woah, that was a sight to see. Keith shout him a glare so Lance turned back around. He stepped over a purple tree root that protruded from the ground in a twisted arch. "Are we there yet?"

"Shut up, Lance." Keith said from behind him, swatting at another leaf Lance swung his way, "Do that one more time and I swear to God..." There was a pause where Lance glanced over his shoulder at him. Then he let another leaf loose, this one smaller but more springy, and it hit Keith right in the face, well front of his helmet, causing him to have to take a step back to catch his balance. "If I wasn't so hot right now, I would take you down." Keith warned but Lance only snickered in response. He was momentarily distracted with his amusement that he didn't see the yellow vines across the floor. The tip of his foot hooked into one of them and the vines pulled taught. He would've fallen face first into the dirt had Hunk not caught him. Or well, more like stopped his fall with his back due to walking in front of the blue paladin in their little line. "Karma." Keith piped up with an amused smirk. Lance just shot a glare over his shoulder. That stupid, beyond-attractive bastard.

"The eighties called, they said it was for you, mullethead.." Lance retorted, making a phone gesture with his fingers and pressing it to the side of his helmet where his ear would be then holding his hand out to Keith as if passing the phone to him.

"We don't even have phones!"

They had been summoned to the planet by a distress signal. When they had arrived at the planet, they hadn't expected the climate to be so... well, dense. It was practically like an Earth rainforest except the trees were all a bright purple, the leaves all multi-coloured with dirt an odd shade of off-lime green from what they could see of it. Most of it was covered in thick undergrowth. The trees were massively tall, yellows vines hanging from the branches. There weren't any clouds so the two suns, one half the size of the other, shone down with a heat that caused the air to thicken and the humidity to cause them to even find it harder to breath. That was why they wore their helmets. That led to a downside though, there was no cool air. They were all practically sizzling in their armour. That was similar to earth rainforests except... There didn't seem to be signs of rain on this planet. Another thing about the planet was the fact it seemed as though it could hold several lots of animal-like aliens. It had the right feel for it. Allura had informed them the dominant population of the planet were the Arichtez. There wasn't much information about them as they tended to keep to themselves.

The not-quite-a-rainforest had been way too thick for the lions to navigate. They could fly overhead but then there would be no where to land the lions once they arrive to their destination. So, they had all come down in the red and green lions and had had to leave them behind in the clearing they had found then travel the rest by foot. They formed a line. Shiro at the front, Pidge, Hunk then Lance then Keith. Originally Lance had been at the back but he complained about being the butt of their follow-the-leader line and Keith had swapped with him. Plus, as much as Lance loved the view of Keith's ass, he needed to keep his self-control and that wasn't helping. Allura had advised them not to harm the forest so most of the pushing through leaves and bushes was done by hand and not sword. It was a lot of effort for five boiling hot Paladins who would kill for at least a sip of water.

"The signal is just up ahead." Shiro's voice came from the front of the line. They could just about hear the soft beeping from the tiny machine in Shiro's hand from the back of the line. It was the mini radar for the distress signal. They must've been walking for a solid forty dobashes solid so it was a relief that they were near their destination.

"Am I the only one who's noticing the lack of Galra signs on this planet?" Pidge asked, peering around the side of Shiro as they walked. She frowned slightly and pushed her glasses up her nose. She looked behind them, still nothing. "Like, I've seen nothing that could indicate any Galra here." She had a point. Lance hadn't seen anything while they walked. It was odd. They usually would at least be a hint, the quiet thrum of a galran aircraft or the sound of heavy footsteps coming from the many drones.

'I don't detect any Galran lifeforms.' Coran said, chipper gone from his tone and replaced with something close to cautious, over the comms, 'Nor any ships. I do detect a lot of alien life though.'

'Stay alert, Paladins.' Allura said, voice firm, 'Keep an eye out in case this is a trap.'

"Roger that, princess." Lance replied.

'Who's Roger?' Came Allura's reply, sounding puzzled. As much as the Paladins tried to teach her human slang, she still just couldn't catch on. She still got confused over phrases, and whenever she managed to use one herself, she always had to point out that she had used a human slang to the Paladins. "Oh, yes! I remember, it's the way you humans say you understand." Hunk confirmed that she was right over the comms. She let out a pleased hum.

They continued to walk. Shiro turned around a large-trucked tree, it's trunk must've been as thick as the length as at least five Hunk-sized people lying with their feet touching heads. When Lance vocalised this, there was a snort from Pidge in amusement. Hunk just looked at the tree as they passed, as if trying to figure out if he was right. The bark was a murky green unlike the rest of the trees that they'd seen on the planet. It also looked more... Spiky compared to the other textures of tree barks they'd passed. Lance recognised this, his eyes squinting slightly. It didn't seem quite right... But he decided to ignore the feeling something was dangerous about that tree and carried on passed like the rest of them.

Just through the leaves in front of them, there was the glimpses of the dirt's lime green that indicated a small clearing. When they pushed through those palm tree-looking leaves, it was clear it was a clearing. Lance looked down at the ground. Most of it was just dirt and light undergrowth but there were sections of just grass. Grass! Green, ankle-high and almost completely the same as earth grass. He wasn't the only one who noticed. Hunk paused in his step, looking down and turning in a slow circle. Lance could see the look of happiness through his helmet's glass - or not glass, it was an Altean material -mask.

"Still no signs of Galra." Keith said from behind him, his stance low and, when Lance glanced back at him, looked as though he could leap into a fight at any moment. Without realising, Lance had bent himself at the knees slightly and moved a little quicker, shifting slightly to a fighting stance himself with his hand hovering over his bayard which was attached to his hip.

At the opposite side of the clearing was a cliff face. Looking up, it wasn't too tall. If someone fell from it, they might break a few bones but it wasn't tall enough to kill someone. It was covered in veins of yellow vines, twisting and falling over the rock. There were gaps between the vines in random areas, one gap even showing the vines disappearing into nothing before appearing a few metres below it. It was weird.

"The signal is coming from right here." Shiro said as he came to a halt, glancing around with a look of confusion. He took a few steps forward, eyes locking onto the cliff face. "From the cliff." Lance looked at the gaps in the vines. There was something not quite right about them.

"Hey, I swear the cliff is moving." Hunk said, pointing over to the rock. Everyone looked over to see it was indeed moving. It looked as though something was rippling, slowly making its way off of the wall. Whatever it was snaked onto the floor, it's grey skin turning into a murky brown colour. An alien. A camouflage alien, it looked kind of lizard-like. It reminded Lance of a chameleon. Their bayards raised defensively.

The alien seemed to grow two legs, it's feet were more like talons. It stood up and showed itself off in all its glory. It's head was like a gecko from Earth, it's eyes bulbous and definitely not pleasant to look at. They had no irises in its eyes and, unlike a gecko, it had just white and two tiny pupils that darted about in different directions to each other. Their skin looked scaly, the brown shade all over. Four arms unravelled from around its... torso? Lance couldn't tell if that was his torso or not, its body was just one slim line. It's fingers were long and there were only four. It had no thumbs or pinkies, the fingers were all thin and the exact same length. At the end of them, sharp nails pointed out, similar to claws. There were no ears, just two small holes on the sides of its head the size of a finger.

It turned its head to the side slightly so one of its eyes could look upon the Paladins. Upon realising who they must be, it's mouth split into a toothy grin. Its teeth were massive, fangs pointed and it looked as though its jaw had to click out of place just for the grin to be full. It looked pleased to see the Paladins who had gathered together with their weapons drawn and bodies ready to jump into a fight.

"Paladins! I fill with much joy to see you before me!" The lizard-creature-alien-thing chirped, voice high-pitched, "My people call me Zxetis, of the Arichtez species. I send out distress signal to call for Paladins of Voltron." The Paladins slowly lowered their weapons as realisation dawned upon them. "This my ship. I hide it well." Zxetis gestured one of their arms to the cliff, "I call upon you for help. Creature attacks us at night, the Galra sends it down and leave. Creature hunts my people. Only few live in my ship, others run for their life. It shall come soon. Not long, the sky grows dark." They looked up to see the sky turning a dark, dusty blue. The heat still didn't ease up. "They live in tree, big big tree, it is once Arichtez holy tree but creature stole it. Creature changed holy tree." That must've been that weird tree. Lance shivered at the thought of something dangerous being up at the top. "Creature watches us until night, then creature hunts. Will you help us?"

Shiro nodded. "Of course we'll help you. You say the Galra sent it then left?" Zxetis nodded. "It's like the robeast." He said to the rest of the Paladins. "How many are there?"

"One creature."

"Only one? Doesn't sound too hard." Pidge said with a shrug, "The Galra are just getting lazy." She puffed out her cheeks and folded her arms over her chest.

"Creature is vicious." Zxetis said.

"Everything we fight is vicious. Like I said before, it doesn't sound too hard. Easy."

"I thought being cocky was Lance's thing." Keith said. Lance made to agree, nodding defiantly before he realised what Keith actually said. He frowned and shot Keith with a sharp glare which Keith replied to with a smirk.

"One night you're going to get into bed and fall asleep. The next morning, you're gonna wake up bald." Lance warned, jabbing a finger in his direction, "You can kiss your precious mullet goodbye." He wouldn't harm the mullet, never, it was too beautiful. But he kept up his act, refusing to let the fact he loved his hair slide. Then he turned back to look at Zxetis, missing the way Keith ran a hand through his hair almost protectively with a frown.

"Creature drives my people mad." Zxetis said quickly, "They grow twisted. Negative emotion is all they feel. They attack us. We have no choice but to kill before they get any worse. There is no cure. That is if creature does not kill them, only hurts." Now that had Pidge letting out an annoyed 'ah'. If that was the case, maybe it wouldn't be too easy. Just don't get hurt. "We know not of how." Oh, great. "They can not tell us what creature looks like. Only say creature is wicked beast." That makes it even better! Note that sarcasm. They were practically going in blind.

"Anything you _can_ tell us?" Keith asked.

"Paladins can not hide from creature. It finds with its smell."

"There goes my chance at playing hide and seek with it." Lance said, sounding disappointed.

"Take this seriously." Keith grumbled, shooting Lance a side look. Lance didn't even look at him, just huffed and placed one of his hands on the back of his helmet with a small pout. "You don't want to get hurt, do you?" Lance blinked in surprise and looked over at him finally. Keith's voice was rather soft. Was he actually concerned? Lance's heart skipped a beat, maybe two. Screw that, maybe three. "Because that would be bad for the team. We don't want to be dragging your ass back to the castle because you didn't take this seriously." Nope, that wasn't concern. Lance slapped his false hope.

'Paladins, there is a lifeform heading straight for you. It is fast.' Allura's voice came over the comms. As if on cue, there was a howl. It was loud, too loud, it hurt their ears. It came from the direction of that weird tree they'd passed. Zxetis's eyes widened and he looked in the direction it came from with a panicked gaze.

"I hide in my ship now. Good luck, Paladins." Zxetis said quickly before hurrying to the cliff, a gapin the rock opening up when he placed his hands against it. The opening showed a ramp leading up which Zxetis hurried up as the 'door' slid shut behind him. The Paladins looked at one another.

There was the thudding of feet hitting the ground. It must've been even larger than they expected. They heard the cracking of wood as trees snapped and fell at the sheer force of the creature barreling into them. Pidge let out a low whistle. Hunk activated his bayard, as did Lance. They moved further back, behind the others as they had longer range weapons.

"Get ready." Shiro said as he activated his arm, it illuminating the floor with purple. It was noticeably darker than it was earlier so the glow cast a shadow across the floor. Keith's sword materialised from his bayard, his grip tight and eyes narrowed as he waited. Pidge's bayard buzzed to life before fizzling down as she stood there.

Through the trees, they caught a glimpse of what they were going to be fighting. A flash of black, a sharp horn that glinted in the moonlight fasted by the two moons. It wasn't much longer before the thing came ramming through the leaves and trees and into the clearing. It skidded to a stop at the sight of the Paladins, staring at them as if deciding if it could attack them or not. It gave them a moment to see what they were up against. It wasn't actually as big as they thought. It reminded Lance of a werewolf from Twilight. It was as big as them and also looked like a big, jet black wolf. Except its head looked armoured, a round circular like its brain was popping out of its head, and it had two ram horns which looked too big for its head. Those features were probably the reason for the trees falling down. Its eyes were cat-like and glowing Galra purple just like Shiro's arm which the creature glanced down at and huffed through arched nostrils. It's armoured tail lashed from side to side, armed with a ball of a dull purple piece of metal at the end.

Something dripped out the side of it mouth and onto the grass. Lance followed it with his eyes. Was that saliva? Gross! He hated slobber. It stopped observing them and let out a loud, rumbling growl. Then it sped forward, lunging for Shiro. It's speed was impeccable. Shiro barely had any time to dodge, the horn just brushing past his foot as he dropped into a roll where he managed to use the momentum to get back to his feet. Keith raised his sword and leapt forward, swinging his sword down in an arch. It sliced through the creature's left shoulder but did nothing to phase it. It just seemed to anger it. It twisted it lower half around and lashed its tail out. It hit Keith's size sending him flying through the air with a shout. He landed and rolled, staying on the ground for a moment to gather himself before slowly pushing himself to his feet. He didn't feel like anything was broken but he could already feel a bruise forming.

"You okay there, samurai?" Lance called. Keith nodded with an affirmative 'mhmm'.

Hunk and Lance let loose. They shot at the beast, managing to get it in several places but it didn't do anything to weaken the creature. It just spotted them, it's glowing eyes narrowed into two black slits. Lance's eyes widened. Well, shit. It didn't give any warning as it suddenly set off at a charge towards the two. The two of them dove to each side and out of the way. The creature managed to come to a skidding stop before it could slam straight into the cliff face. It's nostrils flared and huffed in what seemed to be irritation. Then it whirled its head on Hunk. The yellow paladin let out a load of blasts which hit the armoured head only to bounce right off. Hunk didn't relent his shooting though, determined to find a weak spot.

Just as it was about to run forward, Pidge shot her bayard out. The green buzzing wire wrapped around the creature's horn. Despite her lack of strength compared to the beast, she managed to pull it off balance for a brief second, it's step stuttering as its head was pulled to the side. It growled loudly and yanked its head back in the opposite direction. The action made Pidge's body lurch forward and she was forced to let go of her bayard or get sent flying. She chose to let go. Her bayard unravelled itself and hit the cliff face before falling to the floor. That was when Keith and Shiro set into action. Keith went to stab its neck but it twisted around to attempt to bite into the Red Paladin who moved away just before the fangs could grab him.

The two attacked, their hits making contact with black, furred flesh. But it didn't weaken the beast just like all of their other attacks. It seemed to be recharging almost after every hit, not at all slowing down or showing any signs of pain. It lashed out once again with its tail but the two of them moved away before they could get hit. It glared at them both, growls not ceasing. Lance took the distraction as a chance to shoot the creature. The hits only notified his location. Its whole body twisted as it turned to Lance, head lowered as it scraped its front hoof-like foot on the floor. The others were all tired out. Hunk was frantically trying to find an area to shoot while Keith and Shiro were panting from their attempted attack. They still looked ready to charge again, waiting for the beast to show any weak spots. Pidge was still trying to look for an opening to grab her fallen bayard. There hits just didn't seem to be working. It hit the creature's skin, wounded it, but did nothing to get them anywhere nearer to killing it. The beast just wasn't able to get fatally wounded from the outside.

That was when an idea sprang to Lance's mind. Maybe... Maybe he just needed to get the inside. He didn't have time to vocalise his plan before the creature bulldozed forward. Lance didn't move from his spot. He just raised his gun, using one arm and waited until it close enough. The asshole of a beast left a 50/50 percent chance of biting or ramming him head on. Lance could see Keith running forward with the most angry look Lance had ever seen on his face. He must've been angry at Lance for not moving. He must think Lance was stupid. Maybe he was, but this was worth a shot. If it didn't work, he'd get into a healing pod. Plus, if he went out, at least he went out with a bang. They'd do okay without him, they could get a good, better blue paladin.

It wasn't anger on Keith's face, it was fear. Fear for Lance. But Lance didn't realise.

Taking a deep breath, he did his best to calm his racing heart. He swore he could feel it thudding against his rib cage. He dropped his aim to the creature's mouth, finger pushing on the trigger with almost enough pressure. But then the creature, opened its mouth to show sharp teeth and, just as Lance delivered the shot, the jaws clamped around his arm and bit down, hard. It broke the armour, Lance felt the teeth sinking into his bicep. He couldn't hold back the cry of pain. The others all yelled out for him. He delivered several more shots before the creature's grip slackened. He didn't stop then. Continuing to shoot until the creature let go all together and collapsed on to the ground.

He was right! It was weak on the inside. Damn, was he lucky. His bayard deactivated and he raised his gaze to meet Keith's, who stood behind the fallen beast, and let a grin form on his lips. He did it. He killed the creature. Keith looked back with a look full of concern and worry, anger - or, well, the fear - seeming to have disappeared. He dropped his gaze to stare at Lance's bleeding arm. It was only a few seconds after that he hurried around the dead beast and gently grabbed the uninjured part of Lance's arm to lift it and look at it. It hurt like a bitch but Lance refused to admit it. Keith bit his lip then looked up at Lance, that concern still on his features. Stop it, Keith, stop it. It wasn't helping Lance's rapidly beating heart.

The others approached, glancing between the creature and Lance with looks of impression. Lance put those there. They were impressed with him. He did something right!

"Woah, buddy, you were amazing." Hunk said then noticed the injured arm, "Are you okay? Gosh, that looks like it hurts. You need to get that looked at." His voice taking a more serious tone, like a stern mother hen. Then he turned and spoke into the comms, telling Coran to get a cryopod ready.

"I want a tooth." Pidge announced as she walked over and crouched beside the galra creature's gaping mouth, "For experimentation..." She said, scowling at the looks of disbelief, "For a souvenir! It was a cool creature, I want to keep something to remember the fight. Hey, it's not my first souvenir." They just continued to look at her as if she grew a second head. "Oh, shut up."

"We didn't say anything." Keith pointed out.

"You were thinking things. Don't think too hard, it makes me uncomfortable."

"Can we please just get back to the castle." Lance said loudly. It wasn't a question for confirmation. His arm hurt and he didn't like just standing there when he could actually be getting it looked at. Keith was still gently holding his arm. He hadn't let go once. Lance didn't want him to let go. It seemed to be easing him of a little pain. It was a touch he wanted more of, help him forget about this flaring pain in his arm. Lance knew he could've had it worse. He was thankful he hadn't.

Shiro must've noticed the way Keith stayed by Lance's side. "Keith, you take Lance back to the castle in Red. We'll stay back and make sure the Arichtez are okay and safe." Keith nodded, finally letting go causing Lance to fight the urge to whine, and didn't waste a second before starting to lead Lance back to the lions. A long walk but Lance could make it, keeping pressure on the bite with his hand. He'd need to fix his armour. God, that took so much effort.

He spared a glance at Keith and searched his face from what he could see, being slightly behind him. His eyes were furrowed and his lips were pulled in a firm line. His head twitched to the side where Lance was peering at him every now and then as if he really wanted to turn to look at him but had to hold back the urge. He had been so concerned. Lance thought Keith believed him to be stupid, believe he took nothing seriously, believe him to be a replaceable idiot that should get his ass off the team. Maybe that last one was Lance's thoughts not Keith's. Lance watched as Keith's hands flexed and curled into fists at his sides as if he wanted to grab something but couldn't. What was it? What did he want to grab?

Little did he know, Keith wanted to grab his face and kiss him senseless. He wanted to grab his hand, touch Lance's cheek, shoulders, arms, waist, anything. Anything that could confirm that beast hadn't killed him and that he was safe and sound but maybe a little bit hurt.

 

*

 

The cool air rushed out in a mist as the cryopod  opened. Lance stumbled forward, unable to catch his balance before he hit something solid. He rubbed his cheek against it, wanting to get back the heat he craved after being in that pod. It took him a moment to realise he had fallen into someone's chest when arms wrapped around him. He looked up to see Shiro. His leader smiled down at him, patting Lance on the back before letting go and making sure Lance caught his balance. Before the blue paladin could speak, he was enveloped into a bone-crushing hug causing him to let out a quiet squeak.

"Lungs, lungs." Lance said, voice high-pitched from how much he was being squeezed. Hunk let go with an apology and smile. Hunk glanced down at Lance's arm briefly as if to check it was completely fine. It was. That didn't mean there wasn't any scarring. Due to the short sleeves of the medical suit, half of the scar was visible. It wasn't too noticeable, only a slight shade lighter than the rest of his bronze skin. Lance looked down at it, turning his arm from side to side before his face split into a grin. "Hey, battle scars always hit off with the ladies. 'I got bitten by a raging beast but killed it before it could finish me off.'" Lance's voice took on a deeper tone as he spoke, "They'll love it."

"Baby, bi bi bi." Pidge sang from where she stood beside Hunk. Lance passed her a funny look, not quite getting it, before he looked around the room for Keith. He wasn't there. Had Lance done something wrong? He didn't remember doing anything. Maybe Keith was just being an ass and didnt think Lance needed him there. Allura and Coran walked into the room.

"My boy! Glad to see your arm is better." Coran exclaimed as he walked over, a skip to his step.

"You did great, Lance." Allura said, a smile on her lips, "I am glad you are well again."

She's lying.

What? Lance managed to fight the surprise he felt from showing on his face. She clearly had been telling the truth. Why had his mind suddenly thought the worse? He'd done something right for a change. He had wanted Allura to tell him he did well. And she finally did. But, his thoughts didn't believe her. Part of him did, part of him wanted to confront her on her lie. But she wasn't lying. Lance was sure of it. He felt his mood dwindle slightly. He didn't realise he was staring at her until Pidge wiggled a hand in front of his face from beside him. He blinked back to reality and looked down at Pidge.

"You okay? You just seemed to zone out." Hunk said, a gentle hand getting pressed on Lance's shoulder. Choosing to ignore his thoughts, Lance smiled up at his friend and nodded, giving a thumbs up which he hoped didn't pass off as half-hearted. "Your arm feeling better?" Lance reached up to rub at his arm lightly and nodded again. His gaze did another sweep over the room, checking in case Keith was hiding off in one corner being anti-social. He wasn't. Lance couldn't help but deflate slightly. He wanted Keith to be there but he wasn't. There was a slight strain in his chest when he realised Keith definitely wasn't in the room. He wasn't there for Lance. That concern Lance thought he'd seen on Keith's face was definitely just Lance hoping but it must've been his eyes tricking him.

But, just as Lance was going to come to terms with the fact Keith probably didn't care about him enough to see him when he came out of the healing pod, the said boy walked through the arch into the room. It felt like all of the oxygen left his lungs. He didn't realise how much he wanted to see that mullet head until then. Lance realised his own jacket was bundled in Keith's arms. They made eye contact. Keith, upon realising Lance was awake, let a small smile form and walked over. Lance didn't look away once but Keith didn't look away either. That smile was so soft... The others in the room were trying to hide their amusement from the obvious way the two were staring at each other. Keith didn't say anything when he stopped in front of Lance and held the jacket to him. The little lip bite Keith did as he waited for Lance to take the jacket made Lance's cheeks dust a light pink. Lance mentally slapped himself, stop pining over something you can't have.

It took him a few ticks to realise he should probably take the jacket off of Keith. And so he did. He took the jacket into his own arms, slipping it onto his shoulders and huddling his torso into it.

"I thought you'd be cold when you got out of the pod." Keith mumbled, arms tightening and- was he blushing? Lance blinked dumbly for a moment. Keith, the red paladin with some major anger issues and a dumb mullet who always acted as though he wanted to fight everything, was blushing. It was cute. Lance's heart did a little flip in his chest. It took another couple of ticks before Lance found it in himself to reply.

"Aww, didn't think you cared." Lance replied. He really didn't. No matter how much he wanted Keith to care. "When they say red is your colour, they mean it in every way." He gestured with a circular motion of the finger to his own face with a playful smirk. Keith immediately raised a hand to hover it over his cheeks as he glared at Lance over his fingers.

"I'm already regretting getting you that jacket. Should've just let you freeze. It would've rivalled Blue's ice beam." Lance couldn't help but smile at that.

There was a pause where no one said anything. Then Keith punched Lance's arm that hadn't been bitten, hard. Lance yelped and took a large step back.

"What was that for?!" He whined, rubbing at his punched arm. It wouldn't be hard enough to draw a bruise but it had still hurt.

"For your stupid idea." Keith replied with a frown, folding his arms and pinching his brow at Lance. "It could've hurt you. It did hurt you, you spent hours in that pod." The rest of the team were silent though Hunk was by Lance's side the entire time. "What would we have done if it had rammed you instead, huh? A hit straight on would've killed you." Keith didn't sound happy. Of course he didn't! He was telling Lance how he messed up. Lance had messed up. He thought he did good but Keith was angry. Lance had made Keith angry. He felt himself shrinking back into his jacket. "Lance, you could've been killed!" He was angry, definitely. Shiro moved to place a hand on Keith's shoulder in attempt to calm him, looking concerned. Not for Lance, for Keith. Was Shiro siding with Keith? Something hot sparked in Lance, the small flame slowly growing in size.

"Without you, I-" There was a quick pause. Keith took a deep breath, eyes narrowing. Lance vaguely registered the misuse of the pronoun. That flame was gradually getting hotter, a forest fire igniting inside him. "We wouldn't be able to form Voltron!" Why was Keith so mad at him?! "You always do this! You always muck up! You could get seriously hurt, any of us could. I told you to take it seriously!" Lecturing him was Keith's job. It should be Shiro or Allura's. What gave Keith the right to go off on him like this?

"Keith, he's heard enough." Allura said firmly, stepping forward, "Stop now."

"No, he won't ever hear it enough! He hears it but he doesn't change. He always does it, he always ignores whatever we tell him." Keith said back. Allura shook her head about to speak again. Lance was seething. He didn't think he'd ever been made this angry before. That little forest fire in his chest was now an inferno. He lost it. Words wouldn't cut it. He'd deal with Keith another way.

Lance lunged forward, fingers curled into tight fists. His jacket slipped off of him and landed on the floor. He aimed a harsh upper hit to Keith's jaw, sending the surprised male's head jerking upwards as he staggered backwards. He was tackled to the ground before he could regain his footing. Keith landed on his back with a loud 'oof', eyes wide as Lance straddled his waist and raised his fists as he readied to bring them down on Keith's head. Keith had never seen Lance like this. Keith couldn't move as he started up at Lance. The look of shock only made Lance angrier. Keith didn't think Lance was capable of anything! He let his fists come crashing down. He'd beat Keith, he won't be in his shadow anymore.

"Lance, stop!" Someone shouted, looping arms around him and pulling him back. Lance kicked his feet out at Keith, shouting angrily in Spanish. Pidge seemed to appear in front of him and grabbed ahold of his feet to keep them from moving.

"Vete a la mierda!" Lance shouted, glaring harshly at Keith. The red paladin was breathing heavily from where he had fallen on the floor. He looked up with those violet eyes that made Lance want to simultaneously run away and hug him. Neither of those urges were what he wanted to do then. He'd prefer to just slam his fists into Keith's face repetitively until he admitted Lance wasn't stupid. That he wasn't dumb, that he wasn't worthless. He wasn't useless. He was relevant. He was needed. He was... He swore he was... He thought he was... He wasn't sure if he was... He wasn't... He really wasn't...

When he looked up, he saw Shiro looking at him with a suffocating look of disappointment. It was like a hit to the gut and was enough to knock some sense into the blue paladin. He blinked several times as the anger evaporated and his expression softened, tenseness slipping from his body.

There was a the faint beginning of a bruise on Keith's jaw. Lance's eyes zoned in on it immediately, guilt flooding through his system. The downed male touched it with two fingers before frowning, looking as though the touch stung. Lance did that. He glanced down at his hands. Pidge had let go of his feet and Hunk - who had been the one to grab him - hesitantly let go. Lance didn't move from his position. What got Lance so angry? He never felt that angry. Especially at Keith. Sure, he got pissed off sometimes and would lash out. But that was with words, not fists. Never violence. He didn't want to hurt anyone. Once again, especially not Keith.

One look at the others told him this time he definitely mucked up. They looked at him as though he were an unarmed Galra wearing a pink wooly hat with googly eyes stuck on it. As if they didn't know whether to see him as a threat or not. Coran's usual smile wasn't there, he looked at Lance with a look of confusion. Lance could tell Hunk and Pidge had taken a step back and away from him. Wow, that hurt. He pulled both arms to his chest, one hand holding the wrist of the hand that hit Keith as if he was scared he'd lash out again. Shiro helped Keith stand up in front of him. Keith didn't look angry anymore, he just looked hurt. Lance... did... that... He found himself aching to reach out, gently touch the bruise and kiss it all better.

He didn't understand why he had gotten so angry. "I'm... I'm going to go check on... my, ergh, pillows and all... All that jazz... In my room, yeah, my room. C-call me when dinner is ready." Lance said, voice threatening to break under his team's stares before he was setting off at a sprint out of the room. He didn't have to think, it was just muscle memory now, he was in his room in barely five dobashes. He walked on shaky legs, hand back on his scar and rubbing lightly as he made his way to the bed. He didn't make it to the bed.

A wave of emotions hit him like a tidal wave, washing over all logical thoughts. He crumbled to the floor, hand barely brushing the mattress as he tried to grab something. He hit the ground on his knees, immediately curling in on himself. One hand was pressed against the floor to hold him up slightly while his scarred arm was clutching onto his chest. He couldn't breathe, his chest hurt. He couldn't get rid of this overwhelming feeling of being trapped, the negative emotions keeping him pressed against against a mental wall. They wouldn't let him escape. Old emotions were among them. He could feel that familiar feeling of helplessness, uselessness, he couldn't do anything. He couldn't... Why, why was he feeling like this again? He had been feeling better, he'd been doing better, he proved his self-worth a while ago. It was all back. It wouldn't go away.

A painful sob ripped out of his throat. Make it stop, make it stop. The emotions were building, building, building. They were getting worse and worse and worse and horribly worse. It felt like the crushing sadness the thoughts and emotions brought was digging through his head. A hard shovel jabbing at his consciousness, actively creating a deep hole, tearing through whatever positivity he'd felt for a while. Tearing down everything he'd built to keep himself healthy, to keep himself sane under the stress and fear and pain. He couldn't think straight. Why? Why? Why? He... He didn't understand. Why was he feeling like this? He squeezed his eyes shut, arm finally failing to hold him up and his body completely dropping unforgivingly to the floor. He wanted to go home. Real home.

"Mama! I need you!" He cried, tears he'd been trying to hold in slipping into his cheeks. "I need you, please..."

It wasn't fair. None of this was fair. He was suffocating. He was so far from home. He'd hurt Keith. He was right, Lance had messed up. More than once now. He should've thought it all through. He could've figured out how to shoot without getting bitten. He could've told the others his plan, could've left someone more... Capable for the job. Why was he here? He shouldn't have left Earth. He shouldn't be a paladin. Blue... Blue shouldn't belong to him. Why had he clung onto her for so long? She had the choice from the others, she could've chosen a better paladin. But she chose him, she chose the most useless. Was it just a trick for him to feel like he was finally worth something?

There was a soft noise of protest in his head which he was sure came from Blue. He frowned through his tears. His thoughts suddenly changed. They twisted.

The others were the ones who made him feel like this. They were why he felt like this. He was breaking. His eyes cracked open and stared at the blurred-by-tears floor. He was breaking. He pushed himself up onto his feet slowly, hand still clutching at his chest through the medical suit. He was breaking. Lance looked to the door, anger filling his gaze. He was breaking. He walked towards the door with balled fists at his side. He was broken. And it was all Voltron's fault.

 

*

 

"I've never seen him so angry." Hunk said after Lance had left. Keith held a hand over his jaw. Had he gone too far? "He's... Not even when he's upset about something. He usually keeps as composed as he can."

"It's odd for him." Allura said quietly, "Keith, are you hurt?"

"Nothing I can handle." He mumbled back. It was odd, yes, it was downright not normal. Lance had never been that angry. Keith felt guilty claws grip onto his heart, hold refusing to let go.

"Did you see the look on his face?" Pidge asked, eyes wide behind her glasses. Keith definitely had. He'd been on the receiving end of it. Those eyes, those beautifully blue eyes he'd been so in love with for so long, had screamed  murder. They had lost all of that light that made Lance, Lance. They had turned dark, angry, twisted. Those weren't the eyes Keith lost himself in. Those were the eyes of someone completely different. Those weren't Lance's eyes. Except they were. They looked mad.

Mad. Twisted. Those words rang a bell in Keith's head. His eyes widened in realisation.

"Lance was bitten." He said loudly, successfully catching everyone's attention, "He was hurt, he wasn't killed." Hunk shuddered at those words. His best friend could've been killed. Keith looked over at Shiro, seeing how the black paladin wanted him to continue. "Zxetis said that his people went mad, twisted even. That was if they got hurt by the beast, not killed. He mentioned 'negative emotions'." Realisation dawned on everyone's faces.

"Rage is a negative emotion." Allura said slowly. "Oh no..."

"He said there was no cure." Hunk said, a look of terror on his face. Keith refused to believe that. There had to be a cure, the Arichtez probably never found it. They might've never tried in that little time.

"They had to kill them before they got worse." Pidge added, staring at the floor with fear-stricken features. "We can't kill Lance!" The desperation in her voice surprised Keith. He felt his heart clench. Hunk nodded in agreement. The two looked over at Shiro as if waiting for confirmation. He didn't say anything to them. He just turned and began to walk out of the room.

"I'll go find Lance." He said and with that, he was out of the room.

Keith watched after him. There was speaking behind him that he didn't listen into. But Coran and Pidge hurried out of the room to wherever. Keith didn't care, as long as it would help Lance. He felt a soft touch on his arm causing him to jump and whirl around in shock. It was just Hunk. The yellow paladin looked apologetic for surprising Keith, hands held up in a small gesture of surrender.

"Sorry." Hunk said before his arms lowered slowly, "I just wanted to know if you were alright." He glanced down at the bruise on Keith's jaw.

"I'm fine." He said simply in response. There was a pause. "We're not going to hurt Lance, okay? There's gonna be a cure, there's no need to worry. Plus, it won't even be that bad right now, whatever poison or whatever shut it was couldn't act so quickly. If anyone can figure out a cure, it's Coran." Hunk nodded along, letting the words absorb in.

"That's right." Allura said with a gentle smile. She looked between the two young men. "But we must remember this might not have anything to do with the bite." She sighed. "You might just have really upset him, Keith." The red paladin looked at the floor guiltily. Allura took a deep breath before speaking again. "What you said was right at some points. But you must know when to stop before you hurt someone. Lance is trying, I can see, and yes he makes mistakes but to go off on him like that... He did a good thing and got hurt. He didn't mess up, he just made a little mistake that hurt him but we understand he didn't have time to think." Keith gulped down the lump that had formed in his throat.

"I didn't mean to upset him." He said quietly, "I just... What would have happened if he did die?" He looked up, gaze flickering between the two. "I was scared it was going to hit him. It was going so fast..." Keith sighed and shut his eyes for a split second. "I was worried, I was angry he didn't tell me he was going to pull a stunt like that. I... I didn't want to lost him. I don't want to lose him. He's one of the only things that get me through this all." Hunk looked at him as if he'd just revealed the biggest surprise ever. "If he'd just been a little more careful, just thought it through..."

"That's just Lance for you." Hunk said, "Since when does he ever think things through?" Keith looked up at him, surprised. "Hey, don't worry, he'll forgive you. Just apologise, tell him why you were upset." Hunk's smile was a little beam of light, easing Keith's thoughts. "After he's all cured and okay, calmed down and happy, then you can go confess and stuff. And, just for you information, Lance thinks you're super cool and funny. He speaks about you a lot, actually. He won't admit it to anyone else." Keith smiled back at that. He bent down and picked up Lance's jacket.

"If it is the bite, and if we don't find a cure... we aren't going to kill him. I'm going to do whatever it takes to save him." Keith said, a determined glint to his eye.

 

*

 

"Lance? It's Shiro. I'm just checking to see if you're alright." His fist knocked against the door twice. There was no reply after about two dobashes so he knocked again. "Lance? Are you okay?" No reply. Shiro began to worry. "Lance, that bite might've done something to you. Could you please come out? We need to see if you're alright." He listened closely, managing to catch the sound of something rustling then footsteps. The door still didn't open. He frowned. Was Lance okay? But then, when the footsteps got louder, he realised they weren't coming from behind the door. He whirled around, eyes narrowed and body immediately adapting to a fighting stance. The sight he was met with was not what he was expecting.

Lance stood a few metres in front of Shiro. He still wore his cryopod suit. Shiro noticed the red tint to his eyes right away, giving away the major fact he'd been crying, then he saw the faint shimmer of tear tracks on his cheeks under the light. But Lance didn't look upset. He was smiling at Shiro, a big toothy grin. But it didn't quite reach his eyes. His eyes... Those normally azure eyes were filled with emotions Shiro had never wanted the Blue Paladin to feel. They looked lost, upset, angry, dead. Lance was meant to be the happy one, the one who was having a blast. Lance's head tilted, cheek almost touching his shoulder like a ragdoll got cut from its head string. The smile faltered and tears gathered in his eyes again. Shiro felt his heart clench.

"Hi there, space dad." Lance said, voice wobbling with emotion. Shiro took a step forward, instincts kicking in. He had to look after his team mate. But Lance held up a single finger, and that one finger was enough to have Shiro halting in his place. "I just need to know o- one thing." Lance spoke again, voice slightly stronger than before as his head raised slowly to look at Shiro properly, "Do you know what it feels like?" Shiro looked confused.

"Know what what feels like?" He asked, voice soft as if he were talking to a frightened child, "Lance, what's wrong? You can tell me. I'm here to help." He spoke slowly, not wanting to agitate Lance any further. Lance scoffed, sound sarcastic. Shiro couldn't help but notice the irritation mixed in as well.

"Help? Here to help? Liar." Lance said, voice now sturdy as he narrowed his eyes in a look of anger. Shiro backtracked. "You lie! You want to help, but you've never helped me!" Tears fell steadily onto the Blue Paladin's cheeks, wetting them and leaving shiny stains. "Do you know what it feels like to feel so alone? To feel as though everyone could just... could just keep on going if you weren't around?" If Shiro's heart had clenched before, it shattered then. He held his hands up in a brief show of 'I won't hurt you' and made to step forward. Lance took a step back and away. "I feel like this all the time! You all make me feel like this! It's all your fault!" Lance let out a sob. "It hurts- it hurts so much. I want it to stop, I want it to all go away."

"Lance, that bite is making you feel bad." Shiro tried, voice calm no matter how much he wanted to gather the boy in his arms. Lance frantically shook his head. "Please, calm down, we'll figure this out." Lance just looked at him with round, tear-filled eyes. "We'll find a cure, it'll make you feel better. We'll... We'll get rid of these bad emotions." Lance resumed shaking his head, hands snaking up to tangle in his hair as he squeezed his eyes shut. "I swear to you Lance, we'll make them stop." The sincerity in his voice caused Lance to open his eyes. Those glistening blue orbs stared up at Shiro, who had gotten closer as he talked. "I swear to you, we'll make them stop." He repeated. He was within reaching distance.

There was a pause. They stared at each other. Shiro wanted nothing more than to hold the boy, the little blue light who he had learned to consider as a little brother over the time they spent together. He saw a glimpse of hope in Lance's eye, as if he was truly believing what Shiro was saying. Shiro smiled softly, hoping to give a look of reassurance. The little smile Lance gave him back was a reassurance to himself. But he didn't see the punch coming.

His head jerked to the side as the impact, surprise written all over his features. A knee to the gut had him losing his breath and doubling over. A sharp hit to the back of the neck had him hitting his knees on the ground. He hadn't seen it coming. Hadn't expected Lance to know where to hit him. Had he been training? He shook his head against the shock and looked up to see Lance staring down at him, features twisted in rage. His fists were raised in front of him as if he was going to deliver another blow. But then he seemed to realise what he was doing, expression shifting into a look of terror. Shiro could see the cogs turning in Lance's head. Then he was gone.

Shiro pushed himself to his feet slowly, rubbing the back of his neck where Lance had hit. He looked in the direction Lance had ran. "I'm so sorry, Lance..." He said quietly. Lance was right, it was all their fault.

 

*

 

Keith turned to leave the room but the sight of a heavy-breathing and distraught looking Lance had him pausing. He heard Hunk gasp upon seeing how distressed his best friend looked. Lance looked over the three in the room, eyes lingering on Keith for a moment. Then he placed a fist over his heart and whined painfully. Keith set into autopilot. He rushed forward, dropping the jacket once again, placing both hands on Lance's shoulders and ducked down slightly to meet his gaze from where the Cuban's face was ducked down.

"Lance, Lance, what's wrong?" He asked, gently shaking the boy so he'd look up and meet his gaze. When he did, Keith's heart stopped.

"You are." Lance said, eyes wet. His eyebrows tilted upwards as his bottom lip trembled. "You all are." His voice cracked. Lance just looked so broken. It hurt Keith, it hurt him so much to see him like this. "Your fault, all of your faults." He pushed at Keith's chest, leaving the young man to stumble back a few steps. "I didn't ask for this, I want to go home. Allura... I want to go home! Take me home!"

Keith hadn't been expecting this. He didn't know what he'd been expecting, but it definitely hadn't been this. When Zxetis told them how the hurt grew twisted and mad, Keith had definitely not thought about this. He didn't expect to see Lance look so lost, helpless and in need of love and care. He was broken, he needed something to fix him. His Lance needed someone to fix him. Lance looked a mixture of angry and upset, terrified and devastated.

"I try s-so hard." Lance practically whispered. "I tr-train, I fight beside you a-all and I d-do my best to make you smile. But I'm not cut out for this, I'm not cut out for this job. I don't want to be here, I want to go home!" His voice grew into a desperate cry, "I hate this. I'm worthless! You don't need me, no one needs me. Replace me, get rid of me, ignore me. You don't need me! Tell me I'm saying the truth, don't lie to me. Don't you dare lie to me! I deserve to know what you all think." He then turned on Keith. "And you... You... You make me feel pathetic. I can't believe I th-thought we were getting somewhere. That you actually cared." Lance let out an empty laugh, tears streaming down his face. "I can't- I can't believe I fell for you. I want to hate you, I want to so bad, you're better at everything you do. Better pilot, better fighter, better paladin. I want to hate you, but I can't. I can't hate you and that makes me want to even more." Lance cried, shrinking in on himself. Keith felt a pressure behind his own eyes.

Before he could collapse to the floor, legs too weak to hold him up from how much he was crying, Keith ran forward and dropped to the floor, catching Lance in his arms. The boy didn't waste anytime to grip ahold of Keith's shirt, tightly clinging in desperation as he sobbed his heart out, his whole body tense as if he wanted to pull away but he didn't. He didn't struggle, he was too broken for that. Keith kept Lance's head tucked under his chin and stared across at the opposite wall. He rocked gently from side to side, stroking the back of Lance's hair. After a few moments, he buried his face in Lance's hair so he could place a soft kiss to the top of the sobbing boy's head. Lance didn't stop crying but he did relax into the hold more. He begged for it all to stop, begging for an end to the pain he was feeling. He wanted to disappear. Keith wouldn't let him.

"Shh, I've got you." He whispered, "I'm here, Lance, let it all out." And Lance did. Every last tear.

 

*

 

Keith looked up at Lance in the healing pod once again. He frowned. It'd been three days since Lance had been put in. Why was it taking so long?

"You know, the longer you stare at him, the longer he'll take to come out." He heard Pidge say from behind him. He didn't turn around, just huffed in response. Pidge walked up until she stood beside him, looking up at the male in the cryopod. "I guess it was lucky I took the tooth." She said, "Coran managed to make a cure from it, if you didn't know, he told me he just needed to reverse the chemical that amplified Lance's negative emotions." She paused, looked to Keith. "I wasn't there, but I heard what happened." She looked as though she wanted to talk about it but Keith just shook his head. It wasn't his place to tell. She nodded and sighed. "To think... To think he'd been feeling like this."

"I should've realised sooner." Keith mumbled, head dropping to look at the floor in shame.

"No one could've known. Lance has the tendency to keep things bottled up until they become too much. I've known him for years and I didn't even notice. Heck, even Hunk didn't realise something was wrong. He just... He needs to learn to open up. If he had just told us-"

"The creature's poison amplified feelings." Hunk's voice said as he walked in and joined them. "That was just the poison talking." Hunk looked guilty but he spoke the truth. "He just... Even if they were his feelings to the extreme, we have to look after him. Give him the best hugs, tell him the best jokes. The next time someone calls him annoying, I'll set all hell loose."

"Mama Hunk coming to the rescue." Pidge said causing them all to chuckle quietly.

"No one thinks he's annoying." Keith said, finally looking up from the floor to Hunk, "He's just annoyingly cute." Hunk laughed again. Pidge just rolled her eyes playfully.

"You're obvious pining offends me." Pidge sighed, "When he gets out, just tell him how you feel." Keith didn't protest but his cheeks turned a light red. It had been obvious?

"Oh, Lance is gonna be so happy." Hunk grinned.

"We both are." Keith said.

"Keith and Lance, sitting in a tree." Pidge started, laughing as Keith looked at her with now-bright red cheeks. "K-I-S-S-I-N-"

"Pidge!" Keith exclaimed before she could finish. She burst into laughter. Hunk joined in. It wasn't long until Keith joined in to. And they knew, if Lance was awake, he'd probably be laughing too.

 

*

 

"Allura." Shiro called as he walked over to the princess. She stood on the observation deck, hands clasped in front of her. She was tapping her thumbs together in an impatient manner. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun. She glanced away from the stars she's been watching at the sound of her name. After a few ticks, she fully turned around to face him. Her smile looked a little forced. "It's not your fault." And that smile vanished.

"It is! I should know my Paladins." She said, pace quick, "I'm the princess, I'm meant to look after you and help you. I should've known." She sighed, eyebrows pinching together. Shiro took that as his opportunity to walk over, pausing to give her a moment before he wrapped his arms around her. She didn't pull away, just eased into the hug. "He's been hurting, Shiro, and I didn't even know. I've been focused on defeating Zarkon that I haven't spent any time to focus on you all."

"It's okay." Shiro said, rubbing soothing circles on her back. "Lance'll be back to normal before you know it. He'll be happy, we'll make sure of it." Allura nodded in his arms. "I think he might be waking up soon. It's been a while." Another nod and they pulled a part. "Let's go make our favourite Blue Paladin smile."

 

*

 

The soft hiss of the pod opening sounded. Lance saw a bright flash of white as he stumbled out of it. He immediately felt arms stop him from falling. Blinking his eyes open, it took him a moment to realise everyone was there. Even the mice, perched upon the princess' shoulder, looked happy to see him. Then he realised who was holding him up. Keith smiled up those few inches. The look of pure adoration on his face made Lance feel giddy. High as a kite. His heart stuttered. Lance smiled right on back. Pidge came into his peripheral view. So he pulled his eyes away from Keith to look at her, reluctantly stepping away from Keith.

"You're a dick." She said simply before grinning brightly and walked over to bump herself against him, wrapping her arms around his waist in a hug. She pressed her cheek against his chest as he hugged her back. "Open up next time, okay."

That was when all the memories flooded back to him. Getting beyond angry, punching Keith, the immense pain all those emotions brought him, hurting Shiro, shouting at Keith telling him how much he hated him, sobbing as he was held in his arms. His wide eyes went to look at Shiro. There wasn't a bruise. What was he made of?! Steel?! Then he looked back at Keith. He wasn't smiling anymore but Lance saw that look in his eye. But that bruise, Lance felt guilt gnawing at his stomach. He did that.

"Oi, did you not hear me?" Pidge pouted as she looked up at him. He nodded. It wasn't her who spoke next.

"Good, because none of that was your fault." Shiro said, patting him on the shoulder. "By the way, you've gotten strong. Well done, champ." Lance smiled at the praise. "Give me a call if you ever need me, I'm always here for you." Lance nodded.

"I'm sorry I never realised." He heard Allura say, he glanced towards her, "I promise I'll give you all a break. You'll get some time to yourselves when we can." She smiled hopefully, looking as though she was afraid Lance would disagree. He just rolled his eyes with a smile and pulled her into his and Pidge's hug. She happily hugged back. "Though, if you don't tell us how you're feeling next time, the mice will steal your skin care products." The warning in her voice made him gulp. He believed every word. Lance couldn't help but eye the mice suspiciously out of the corner of his eyes.

"Buddy, you know I love you, right?" Hunk said.

"Of course I do." Lance replied, "Come here you big marshmallow." He pulled away from the Allura-Lance-Pidge sandwich and turned around so he could hug Hunk instead. His best friend hugged back tightly.

"Lance, oh holy quiznak, you scared us." Coran hooted from where he was stood, "Make sure to keep a healthy mind, my boy. I will be paying close attention to your mood if you don't." Lance chuckled and nodded once again.

He then looked to Keith. He hadn't said anything, he'd just been watching Lance with a look full of affection. It was a look Lance had craved from Keith for so long. A look he'd wanted directed at him so desperately. It almost made him choke on air. Lance was sure his cheeks had dusted a light pink. Lance gathered Keith wanted to talk but it wasn't a talk they could have with the others around. He smiled at the others. "Can I just... Have a moment alone?" The others looked worried. That was until he looked at Keith again. "Wanna come be alone with me? " Keith chuckled and nodded. Lance grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the room. Not without sharing a knowing look with Hunk.

He didn't quite realise Keith was having the exact same look passed between him and Pidge.

When they came to Lance's room, they were quick to enter. Lance turned when he walked into the room, about to speak, but he didn't get the chance.

Keith pulled him down those few inches and pressed his lips to Lance's before the door even shut behind them. The kiss was soft, gentle and filled with care and affection that had Lance melting. It felt as though everything slowed down and all Lance could think of was the fact Keith was kissing him. He'd been wanting this for so long it hurt. And it wasn't anything less of what he had expect. It lasted a few seconds but it felt like an eternity. A happy, happy eternity.

Keith barely pulled away, his lips ghosting over Lance's and his hands moving to cup either side of his face. "God, I'm sorry." He whispered and Lance gently bumped their foreheads together.

"Why you sorry, handsome?" He asked.

"You were hurting, I never saw. I made you feel worse."

Lance felt the corners of his lips tug downwards at the memory of all those bad emotions. Keith kissed the frown away. Lance sighed into the kiss, easily being led backwards. Keith sat on the bed, wasting no time to pull Lance down into his lap.

"I want to make you feel better." Keith said firmly, "I know they won't be better now." He was right, there was still those lingering thoughts. "But I'm going to make them better. I'm going to make you happy." He brushed his nose against Lance's cheek. "I'm sorry."

"Why? Stop apologising, you fluffy-haired dork."

"Let me apologise. Please."

Lance sighed before nodding. Keith gently turned Lance's head towards him with a finger under the jaw.

"I'm sorry for making you mad." Keith met his gaze, pecked his lips once more. Lance could kiss a million times if he was allowed. "For upsetting you." He kissed Lance's nose then. "For never telling you that I want to be with you." He leant upwards and kissed Lance's forehead.

"Like, 'couple' be with me?" Lance said, voice airy with disbelief.

"Is there another option? Of course I want to be a couple. I want to do stupid lovey dovey things. I want to be tooth-rottingly cute with you. I want to worship you, I want to treat you like a prince. I want to make you feel loved." Keith said quickly, peppering Lance's face in kisses between words causing the Cuban to laugh softly. "Can I please, please do that?"

"Yes. Oh god, please do that."

"Then, consider it done." Keith nuzzled into Lance's neck, pressing a loving kiss on his pulse point. Lance sighed happily. Then Keith felt hands in his hair. He pulled away from Lance's neck to look up at the paladin's face. Lance looked so fascinated, affection in his gaze and his touch was careful as to not tug hard on his hair.

"Your hair is so soft... What shampoo do you use? Quiznaking shampoo from Aphrodite or some shit?"

"You're going to be the death of me." Keith laughed, rolling his eyes,

"Nope, I only just got you, you're not dying on me."

Maybe the thoughts would stay for a while, maybe they wouldn't ever go away. That ache would always be there but Keith would make sure he'd dull it. He'd make Lance forget about it, make him happy. And if anyone were to take away that happiness... Oh, hell, then they better start running.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, loves.
> 
> See, happy ending, I can be nice! Sometimes.


End file.
